How do you feel about revisiting your old or completed work

[BOMB]

How do you guys feel about revisiting or continuing old work?

Often times when I write a story, I have an idea I want to explore, but may not have an exact end point until I've gotten to it. But once I reach that end point I leave the story and move on.

Here on Tapas I've run into the issue of having posted completed stories. And this may not seem like an issue, but once the last chapter is posted, that's it. There's nothing left. But I've had the luck of creating a couple of series that people seem to genuinely like. Unfortunately I ran out of chapters for them.

So now I run into two problems with these stories:

1. I came to the conclusions in these stories and trying to write past them feels like overstaying my welcome. It's like I've said everything that needed to be said, but people want more, so I have to come up with more words. And I don't want what I add to the story now to dilute the work or make what people liked turn into a lesser story.

2. If I leave a series for long enough I often try to avoid going back to it because, hopefully after growing as a writer in that time, I might feel said story isn't up to standard with my new level. This often leads to rewriting entire stories. There's even been an instance where I completely nuked a popular story of mine because while people might have liked it, after revisiting it after a year and a half, I found too many problems in it to leave alone.

Now I will say that I'm currently working through these problems. Knowing that people like my work, i think it would be wasted opportunity if I neglected the thought of continuing these stories. I have to at least try. I want to try. But I'm just curious if anyone else has ever had hesitation or second thoughts regarding revisiting or continuing their old or completed works.

[darthmongoose]

If you don't have a good idea for a sequel or continuation, and can't think of one, don't write one.

Sequels nearly always have diminishing returns, and a few people shouting they want something, even if they do it very loud, doesn't necessarily mean it'll appeal to a broader audience.

My old comic had a modest following when I put it on hiatus to build my career, and I'd always had a bit of temptation to just continue where I left off, because people already liked that one, they were already subscribed! They were asking whether I'd continue it! ...But when I went to look at it, after nine years away, with all the things I'd learned, I was like "...no, even if I'll need to mostly build the audience from scratch, I can't continue this, I have to reboot", because I'd grown so much, not just as an artist, but as a writer and a person, that the work of my past self felt so unfocused, naive and dated. I took a chance on rebooting completely from scratch, and it paid off; Errant has over ten times the readership Fan Dan Go had!

Andrew Hussie could have made another Problem Sleuth after they finished Problem Sleuth... but they didn't. They made Homestuck, and at first people were like "ugh, this is different though! I wanted more Problem Sleuth!" But then Homestuck became one of the most popular webcomics ever, broke Newgrounds multiple times and broke the record at the time for most successful Kickstarter ever. It was a phenomenon. Hussie took everything learned from Problem Sleuth, and made something even better.

Have faith that people don't just like those stories because of those characters; but because of your skill as a creator that made them like those characters and that story, which you've honed since then. Show them something even better than the thing they asked for; the thing they didn't know they wanted, but when they see it shaping up, they'll realise, "OH. THIS IS BETTER."

[Katzalcoatl]

You can't really continue a completed work. A series must be planned. If you will create multiple books/comics of one series you have to plan them from the start.

DC and marvel comics create multiple universes thus allowing multiple comics of the same character with completely new stories. They don't have a planned ending because they aren't meant to end.

Continuing a story with a set conclusion is noticed by fans and it can create a new fandom or just destroy your old one (cough Boruto). Take Bleach for example. Bleach is a story that should have clearly ended after Aizen Saga.

Or take Dragon Ball. Freezer was the last saga planned but the author was asked to keep writing since dragon ball became a big deal.
Since it wasn't originally planned the enemies in the Cell Saga kept changing over and over.

There are always exceptions to the rules on which finished stories you can continue even if many years have passed (dragon ball super) but it mostly depends on how well your story sells.

[BOMB]

My fears are that I can't find a good way to continue and that I might ruin things like hoe you say a lot of people do with sequels, but I've considered it worth trying for a few reasons

1. As much as I worry over if my continuation will be well received, I'd probably worry just as much about starting a new series.

2. My fears might be right, but they might be wrong. Continuing an old story may tank completely but sometimes they work. I think of Buffy the vampire slayer and the spin off Angel (im a fan of both). I don't know if continuing will lead to something that works or not, but it could. There's always a risk, but with this there are at least other people asking me to take one.

3. As a creator I agree with you that we should have faith in ourselves enough to make new and better things, but what if fans and readers help us learn what we're best at writing. What if listening to my readers helps me to figure out my niche, and the the lane I can grow in?

Would you still say sequels are a bad idea? Do you see why I'm a little conflicted and think it's worth trying?

[ShidoDraws]

There's a story I wrote almost a decade ago that I go back to read every now and again. I've never published this story but I would joke about publishing it one day. Of course that day will never come because even though I liked the premise and has elements of a good story it's not a good story. If I were to publish it I'd have to rewrite the whole thing. Though I still hold that story close to my heart, I had fond memories of it even if nobody has ever read it.

My current story is nothing near that story's amount of mess and potholes, so I'd like to think of looking at the old work as inspiration rather than reworking it. It helps remind me of how far I've come as a writer.

However, I will rewrite it if I finish my current project. I'll see if people liked the novel enough for me to make it into a comic. Of course, I doubt people will read it and want a comic of it but you know, nothing wrong with being optimistic if you know you're going to fail. Anyway, I'll probably be dead before I could rewrite the story so. Lmao

[Lucky_Foot]

Hi there! It's totally normal to feel hesitant about continuing old work. However, it's also a great opportunity to expand on stories that people already love. One way to approach this is to take a break from the story and come back to it with fresh eyes. This can help you see the story in a new light and come up with new ideas. Additionally, you can consider talking to your readers and asking for their input on what they would like to see in a continuation of the story.

As for concerns about diluting the original work, try to stay true to the themes and elements that made the story popular in the first place. You can also consider adding new characters or plotlines that complement the original story, rather than detract from it.

For example, let's say you wrote a story about a group of friends solving a mystery. If you wanted to continue the story, you could introduce a new mystery or subplot that expands on the world and characters you've already established.

Remember, your readers love your work for a reason. Don't be afraid to build on that foundation and create something new and exciting!

[BOMB]

Yeah if I continue the series I'm talking about I'll plan it out and evaluate other stories I can tell in the world. It won't just be rambling on past the end point that I left on lol. But I'll have to think of ways to build off of that point.

In either case a spin off or time jump situation wouldn't be too difficult. This particular series of mine was made up of little moments, that are in chronological order, but there have always been gaps between the moments time wise.

[darthmongoose]

As much as I worry over if my continuation will be well received, I'd probably worry just as much about starting a new series.

Making any creative endeavour is a risk. It's normal to feel nervous. I don't personally see why that should stop you.

As a creator I agree with you that we should have faith in ourselves enough to make new and better things, but what if fans and readers help us learn what we're best at writing. What if listening to my readers helps me to figure out my niche, and the the lane I can grow in?

I don't personally see "making a new thing with the same genre/vibe that builds on what readers reacted well to in one of my works" as being the same as "making a direct sequel". When I rebooted Fan Dan Go into Errant, the first thing I did was write a list of things readers reacted well to and that I wanted to keep...and then another list of things readers criticised and didn't like that I wanted to get rid of or change. I listened to my audience, but I chose my own solution, not "continue this" but "redo this, but do it better this time".

The problem with sequels is, people are generally only interested if they read all the way through the first thing. Are you satisfied making work that never gets a bigger audience than what you have? You can't even guarantee the current readers will stick around; sometimes people get bored or get busy with uni or kids or jobs, so there's a fairly high chance the sequel has a smaller audience than the work it follows. If you want to build an audience, you need to seek out new people.

Angel may have had a dedicated cult fanbase, but it was a much smaller one than Buffy and has largely been forgotten, because it had familiar characters to appeal to hardcore Buffy fans, but it lacked a lot of the things a wider audience could connect with about Buffy and that made it iconic. I don't think Whedon could have built a career on just milking Buffy sequels and spinoffs forever. Yeah, Firefly was a flop, but I think making something different was the right call, because then he tried writing comics, and that got him in with Marvel, and then... yeah, he ended up writing the Avengers movie and it was massive. He tried new things and took risks and it paid off.

If you're not reliant on the income your stories are already making to pay your rent, you have nothing to lose by trying new things and aiming for better. After reading your response, I still stand by that. I could have continued Fan Dan Go with its... like 150 odd subs on Drunk Duck and Smack Jeeves, probably with a bunch of them not really reading because time had passed and they were out of the habit of reading... and then lost everything because Smackjeeves went down, lol. But I didn't. I remade it into Errant; new platform, new format, new artstyle, new plot, major changes to the characters and lore... and it's got over 2500 subs, it's had a successful print kickstarter, it's on the Tapas Creator Bonus Program.

As the saying goes: "Nothing ventured, nothing gained".

[cherrystark]

I revisit/rework ideas all the time but that is more a part of my natural writing process. If I can realistically add 50 more words to a chapter, I can charge more for it. I also rewrite stuff as I adapt work for novels. I am a discovery writer so sometimes going back allows me to lay the groundwork for twists I want to explore later in the series.

I came to the conclusions in these stories and trying to write past them feels like overstaying my welcome.

I think it's smart to realize this about yourself. @darthmongoose is right. If you can't write a sequel that naturally compliments your world, don't write it. One of the reasons Shrek 2 and Toy Story 3 are such amazing sequels is that the stories naturally complement the original work. We WANT to see what happens when Shrek finally meets his in-laws. Most of us wouldn't be too excited to see individual movie trilogies highlighting every single side character in the franchise. Like Fast X, letting some series go to bed is okay too.

I do recommend that when you're getting ready to start a new story is to ask yourself CAN the world/storyline naturally be expanded upon. One of my dreams is for my main series to be adapted for TV. I have storylines that could be used for future TV episodes, ideas for spin-offs, and more. Heck! If someone wanted to play Leverage and turn it into a K-Drama, I have plans for that too.

But, I also have another WIP that when it's done, it's done. Me trying to add to the world isn't going to do anything aside from give me a headache.

[NickRowler]

I guess it will depend.

How long is your old series?
If it’s short, adding more to it to flesh it out could help.

How old is it?
If it is 5+ years old, it might be difficult to pull back OG readers to continue reading.

How much demand is there?
This sort of ties back to the one above. If readers are asking for more, it would make sense to add more. But you could run into the common issue where fans demand more, and when give more, they are disappointed.

I am saying this as someone who worked on a series for several years. My last chapter preformed horribly. Even to those who loved the series starting out, didn’t really stick to the end.

[clarissapattern]

I feel you as I am writing a sequel at the moment, and I've struggled so much with it. But on the other hand putting my complete novel here in parts on Tapas has been quite fun as it gives me a chance to rewrite and play with scenes that I couldn't in the published version.

[BOMB]

I probably should have mentioned, I'm not doing one or the other. I'm basically doing both. I'm still writing new stories, but I'm revisiting my older series as well.

It's actually only 1 of 5 stories I'm working on. Each of which is unique. I've never been a stranger to trying new work, but part of the reason why I explore so many genres and subjects is to eventually find what I like to write The most and what readers want the most.

And I kinda have to disagree on one particular thing you said. My audience was getting bigger. With each new chapter I gained new readers and even got new interactions. My growth only stopped when I stopped the series. Obviously with it having been paused for a minute it would probably be slow to pick back up in readership again. But I feel optimistic in thinking I could get that wave going again.

But I completely agree that if I don't have a solid idea or good concept of how to keep the story going, I shouldn't do it. But while my fear may be that I'm overstaying my welcome, I'm still doing the work to make a compelling story I believe will be worth the risk. And if I'm honest, the fact that people have shown interest in the series has brought back my interest in it as well, so continuing the story will be fun all on its own.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to work on the continuation, I guess I was just wondering if anyone else had ever had doubts or insecurities about doing stuff with stories they haven't touched in a while. I feel i can safely assume you aren't the sequel type tho. You've definitely given me more to think over as far as doubts lol but I want to try.

If it completely tanks I'll owe you a coffee.

Oh and if anyone is interested in what series I've been talking about. It's Meathead and Loser, not The God of Summer Storms.

Read Meathead and Loser | Tapas Web Novels

I considered going back to TGoSS but that took me forever to write because of the plot twist at the end and how it messed with the order of events, so it's staying done lol

[BOMB]

And I agree too, that if I can't do something that feels right and organic and complimentary, I shouldn't do it. But while I may be afraid of this happening, I still want to take the risk and try because I'd like to think I'm good enough to make it work.

And I may be wrong, but I'll never know if I don't try.

Honestly I'm surprised everyone has commented so much on my first fear of overstaying my welcome in the series.

The bigger risk and the one that has Honestly kept me from working on my series again sooner is my second fear. I'm so terrified of looking back at my old story and being like "did I write this when I was 12?" And then my OCD, paranoid self will be compelled to rewrite everything, or worse, make the series vanish.

Anyone who has followed me for long enough probably remembers my series Twig...yeah I looked at it after a year and a half and couldn't look at it without getting embarrassed. To this day idk how anyone actually liked it much less how I let it out into the world. But I don't want to do that to Meathead and Loser lol

So yeah my second fear is probably the one that I'm most afraid of.

[cherrystark]

If I leave a series for long enough I often try to avoid going back to it because, hopefully after growing as a writer in that time, I might feel said story isn't up to standard with my new level. This often leads to rewriting entire stories. There's even been an instance where I completely nuked a popular story of mine because while people might have liked it, after revisiting it after a year and a half, I found too many problems in it to leave alone.

I am curious why you seem to be married to the idea that you HAVE to come back rework your older stories. It's okay if you DNF a story. There are plenty of online stories that the writer doesn't finish. It's also okay if you want to pull a story completely and rework it. I've done that with a couple of my series because I want to adapt them into books.

However, I don't think you should nuke a series because you are overthinking it. For me, writing involves a level of archeology. Your work is a chronology of your skill level. If you practice and are willing to learn, eventually, your stuff will get better. Overthinking things isn't really going to help you in the long run. The story idea you loved at 20, might be total garbage at 30, etc.

I have a Twilight-esque fiction that I wrote when I was like 15. It still makes me cringe to this day, but I keep it as is because it reminds me of the progress I've made as a writer. The same thing for the Dr. Who meets Firefly scifi fic, I wrote. It's not good but I learned a lot from it. I could go back and rewrite it but it's really not helping anyone if I did. I'd be losing time on series that I'm currently doing.

A hard truth - no one cares about your series as much as you do. You might be embarrassed by the work, but if they like the plot - they're going to keep reading.

[BOMB]

I'm not married to the idea that I have to come back and rework things, it's more of an impulse. Over time we get better, we learn new things, so when I look back at old stories I often see things that could have been done better or things that were just bad. And I can't just ignore it because now I can see too well.

Imagine building a house, it's a lovely home that people have even moved into. But you come back a year later and realize some of your design choices were poor. Like you used triangle doors and scorpion pit wallpaper. The house still works, and there are still families who want it, but you know you messed up.

And I don't usually rework plots or the story itself. The things I often end up wanting to change or fix are like grammar, flow, sentence structure, punctuation.

Things like their, there, and they're. Or using too much repetition. Or forgetting to use "had" in certain sentence for people to know order of events.

It's a perfectionist thing. My best was at a level in the past, and it's at a new level now. That's why I usually try to avoid looking back at old work so I don't nit pick or nuke myself. I know it's not a good thing, but it's an impulse.

[Katzalcoatl]

If you are looking to correct the grammar you can do so.

If you are looking to correct the grammar and the story flow. Then you are looking to make a reboot of your series.

From what I have read you aren't really looking to make a continuation.
It is important to know what you are looking to do in order to take the appropriate steps.

As personal advice, I don't recommend going back just to correct your grammar on a completed story unless that series means a lot to you as the author. Otherwise you will be constantly going back to redo every series you make once you improve a little.

[BOMB]

Well it's definitely a continuation, not a reboot. I'm not changing major plot points or taking characters out or adding new plot points in. What I've been talking about is more so taking what I already have and polishing it more.

For example, the difference would be like going from

"The land was dry until rain came."

To

"His father's land had been dry for weeks until rain finally came."

And the reason I have the impulse to go back and correct grammar and things like that before I introduce new chapters is because my stories matter to me that much. I always want what people read of my work to be my absolute best. You never know what might turn a reader away from your series.

Something as small as forgetting an apostrophe can be all it takes for someone to walk away. And I'd like to eventually be professionally published. You never know who might come across your work. I know it's unlikely, but a publisher might see my story and pass it up because I miss used their they're and there too much.

I can actually remember not too long ago a reader left a comment on one of my older stories about how annoyed they got whenever I forgot an apostrophe or added too many. It was one comment, but it matters. I'm not crying or pulling my hair out. But I hate not coming off as professional and polished as I can.

[cherrystark]

I understand being a perfectionist, but in my opinion, going back to a story with fresh eyes is only really helpful if you have an endgame for the story. I am self-publishing a lot of my work, so I am constantly double-checking my work for grammar, spelling, etc. While I can go back and make minor changes, it takes a lot of work to do so, so it's best to step back and let it be.

Imagine building a house, it's a lovely home that people have even moved into. But you come back a year later and realize some of your design choices were poor. Like you used triangle doors and scorpion pit wallpaper. The house still works, and there are still families who want it, but you know you messed up.

I understand the analogy, but as a student of home design, it's another example of learning to let go. Houses built in the 1970s were designed for peak fashion and design of the time, but looking at those houses 50 years later - we cringe. It doesn't mean their design choices were bad, they were just choices. And with houses, you could try to do everything right, and make all the best design choices, but a new buyer could come in and rip it down to the studs, changing all your work. Did you fail - no. They just had different ideas/needs than you.

Something as small as forgetting an apostrophe can be all it takes for someone to walk away.

Are they really the type of reader you want to entertain? In spite of what grammar nazis may say, punctuation and grammar are really subjective. I once had to argue about my choice of comma placement with an old boss because we both had different ideas of "correct" usage for business emails. Neither of us were wrong, we were just seeing it from two different angles. *Grammarly is constantly fighting with my Microsoft editing software over things like punctuation and grammar. I ultimately have to make the choice because I know what I was trying to say. Professional publishing houses will provide you with editors, so if you did fall into the trap of their they're and there, the editor is being paid to fix it for you.

So, to summarize - no, I don't think it's a bad idea to revisit a story to do edits and updates, but have a long term plan for the story. New readers, on web platforms, will not care that you spent three weeks doing grammar updates and your older readers will have already read the work, so they won't care either. So without a plan, you really are just waiting time. Perfection isn't achievable. And if you must go back and reread your work, why not take what you've learned from your previous mistakes and make the next story better?

[Katzalcoatl]

I agree with @cherrystark you need an endgame plan if you want to revisit an old story.

What are your plans for the series? Besides just correcting mistakes from your earlier days as a writer. Will you make a franchise? Do you want to get new fandom? Is it worth the effort?

Publishers search your work and history. But by doing so they do see the dates you published said stories.

Think about it this way. An artist shares on their instagram art since the moment they started drawing. A person who wants to hire them will not look at the oldest drawing they made and say "OMG, even though their art is great they have 10 bad drawings from 10 years ago. I should probably not hire them." That just means the HR recruiter is bad at their job. Anyone who wants to hire you will look at the portfolio you send or your latest works.

You are free to go back and correct the work you did years ago. Just like any artist is free to correct any drawing they did years ago. But you have to ask yourself... is it worth the effort? Could this story be taking time I could be using for a much better story?

Most of the time, you could be using all that effort into writing a much more compelling story. It will be your choice if you go back and redo your story. Personally, I wouldn't do it unless I truly beleive in the potential of the story.

For example, the difference would be like going from

"The land was dry until rain came."

To

"His father's land had been dry for weeks until rain finally came."

I know this was just an example. But let me ask you this. Will these changes truly add something to the story? Will the reader feel like it is a completely different experience? It is important that we (as writers) ask ourselves such questions to know if something is really needed in a story. Or if it is just our ego as writers wanting to make each sentence perfect. I have fallen in that trap before thus why I mention it.

[BOMB]

I suppose you could say my end game is to continue to make content that I like writing but that readers also want to read. Now I can't say for certain how many books I'll get out of that, but I know that people like the series and I myself loved writing it. So trying to keep it going may be a risk but it'll be a fun one.

And I also agree with you that sometimes you gotta just let things go. And I try to, but if I'm going to do work with an older series it's just always going to be an impulsive of mine to update things first.

Not saying that I will, but the urge to is always there.

And I'm not just going in and randomly doing this stuff. A part of continuing a story (at least for me) is first revisiting everything that has already happened that way I cam better remember where I left off and see if there are any plot points I can expand on. I have to basically reread my own work before I jump back into it. And during that step is usually where my urge to edit comes in.

In either case I think we agree on a lot. It's just something I'll have to hold myself back from doing lol